Alex Blackwelder

all animal posts lately!

Wuyuan, Jiangxi

Shengcun, Yuanyang

I just loved how many little piggies were in this village!

right after the one in the middle yelled “take a picture of me!”

hengyang, hunan

hengyang, hunan

Jiantang, Shangrila, Yunnan

My friend started to feel sick while we were wandering around the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery in Shangrila, so we decided to find a place to escape the cold. I asked a Tibetan man if there was a place we can sit and drink tea. He lead us to his home, sat us down, and made us all salted yak butter tea, no questions asked. He was proud of his family and his home. I’m constantly humbled by the hospitality and friendliness of people in China.

Duoyishu, Yuanyang, Yunnan

The Yuanyang area is known for its beautiful rice terraces and the minority Hani people. Most people, besides the children if they go to school, cannot speak Chinese. Sometimes I would speak to the children in Chinese and they would translate for their families. That’s something I never expected to do before I came to China.

This Hani woman lived in the house beside the guesthouse I stayed in for a week while I was in Duoyishu. Every morning she would lead her 50+ ducks from her home to a rice paddy for them to spend the day. One day as I was walking home from photographing, the ducks started following me! I couldn’t get them to stop, and I ended up accidently leading them all the way back to their home. All of the villagers got a kick out of that. I thought she would be mad, but she found it hilarious. I heard her laughing while she led the ducks back to their spot. A few days later, she posed for this photo for me. I wish I could have asked her name.

yangcun, wuyuan, jiangxi!

Qinghua, Wuyuan, Jiangxi

Qinghua, Wuyuan, Jiangxi

Beautiful garden in Suzhou!